Are Development Projects Pursuing Short-Term Benefits at the Expense of Sustainability?

Published Date
October 05, 2017
Type
Journal Article
Are Development Projects Pursuing Short-Term Benefits at the Expense of Sustainability?
Authors:
Yigezu Atnafe Yigezu
Tamer Al-Shater, Aden A. Aw-Hassan

When evaluated purely on financial grounds, most developmental interventions targeting the livestock sector exhibit a positive impact. This study also provides empirical evidence that a project which provided loans to livestock producers in Syria succeeded in increasing the annual farm income and reducing the income risk. However, these annual benefits were accompanied by a reduction in technical efficiency which, unabated, may compound over the years and compromise the livestock enterprise’s sustainability. The development lesson from these findings is that misguided interventions with well-known short-term livelihoods benefits could, in the long run, hurt the very sector which they aim to support.

Citation:
Yigezu Yigezu, Tamer Al-Shater, Aden A. Aw-Hassan. (5/10/2017). Are Development Projects Pursuing Short-Term Benefits at the Expense of Sustainability. Sustainabilty, 9 (10), pp. 1-12.
Keywords:
technical efficiency
income
risk
small ruminants
sustainability
loans